Awesome, congrats. My favorite place to eat in Vegas is PF Chang's, but it is not really a wedding type place. Nice places include McCormick and Schmick's http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/- this is a very nice seafood place, the appatizers were amazing. Also consider Roy's http://www.roysrestaurant.com/ which is unbelievable... we've been to the Roy's on Kauai, but not in Vegas, but it really was awesome. Also if you like steak, try Fleming's http://www.flemingssteakhouse.com/. It's the same owner as PF Changs (Peter Fleming or something...). Somebody who lives there can comment also, this is from a frequent visitor with a wife who likes expensive restaurants. Enjoy.

Mandalay Bay has some great places- Shanghai Lily is one of my favorites, but anything they have there is excellent (except China Grill- avoid that one)-

A really interesting place with excellent (and unique) food is a place called Ortinique which sits between Bally's and Paris in the walkway between the two hotels. Really good food there.

Another good place is a restaurant called the Tillerman, a seafood and steak place off the strip. Really good food and an excellent wine list. I really like this place and recommend it highly.

Oh, then there is restaurant row- on Flamingo between Paradise and Swenson. Places like Roy's (hawaiian fusion), Hamada (japanese), Cozymels, etc are all here.

By the way, i'll respectfully not recommend McCormick and Schmidt's (located in Restaurant Row). I found the service to be second class and rude (both times i've been) and the food sub-par for the prices....

nearby, on Paradise (i think) is a place called Marrakech (i know i'm butchering it...) that offers excellent cuisine and belly dancing in a Moroccan atmosphere (no utensils, giant lounges for table, its pretty neat).

Finally, here's a list of my favorite 4-5 star places in town. These are definitely high end, but are well worth it.

Bellagio's Cierco and Cirque are both fantastic, but may be a bit high end.

Luxor's Steakhouse is probably the best food i've had in Vegas. Might be a bit over $30 a plate, though.....

one of the absolute best places in town is a place called Hugo's in the Four Queens. Its uber expensive ($50/plate), but is absolutely the best place for couples in Vegas- I'd recommend this for a quiet dinner for just the two of you.

if none of this suits your fancy, shoot me a pm. i've got more, but am drawing a blank at the moment.

We'll be spending most of the time out at Red Rocks, probably be staying at some cheaper hotel the night before, and we have a room booked at NY-NY for the wedding night. Location doesn't matter too much, but we will be leaving from the strip.

Doesn't have to be an overly wedding type place, just nice. I won't be showing up in some big white dress, we'll be more casual than that.

I might suggest Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill - second floor, Harrahs - they accomodate large groups well and have a VIP room if needed. The prices are reasonable, the servings are huge, and they have live entertainment nightly (band and DJ). The food's great, come check us out! (I'll be the DJ in the corner LOL)

I cannot recommend Drai's in the Barbary Coast highly enough. My fiance and I have eaten there twice and will likely go there on all our Vegas trips. A delightful combination of spectacular food, retro decor, immaculate service, and improbable location make this a real find. They have a great room for special parties that gives you a lot of privacy. The prices around $30 per plate, but some dishes may be a bit more. May I suggest the seven-hour leg of lamb and the Chilean Sea Bass (best I've had). For desert, don't miss the strawberries beignet; I've never had anything like this. You will not be disappointed if you choose this place.

Thanks for all the replies so far, any others would still be appreciated.

Has anyone been to "The Steak House" at Circus Circus?

I think we want to avoid anything too ethnic. I want a nice BIG juicy steak, but there will be at least one person who will be looking for something far less meaty. A place with beef, chicken, and good salads is what we are looking for.

I want a nice BIG juicy steak, but there will be at least one person who will be looking for something far less meaty.

That's an understatement, I know my sister doesn't eat beef, just a bit of chicken and fish. And as for fish.....my family grew up on the ocean, so if it isn't fresh (or positivly delisious) they may be dissapointed.

We've got a winde range of tastes to deal with here, I personally would love to try a place that Ortinique or the hawaiian fusion (just what is that anyway?) that vegastradguy sugested. As Mr. Monkey said, he wants a really good steak. Drai's in the Barbary Coast looks pretty appealing, I'll take a better peek at that.

Check out Roy's menu online (link in second post above). The pictures and descriptions will sort of explain Hawaiian fusion. I don't know if they have steaks, but I would guess yes. It really was amazing, and they have a fixed price menu that is $33 per plate (check out the website).

The Steak House at Circus Circus used to be the nicest place in town....pretty much any steak house you go to is going to be good- its sort of a prerequisite for any good hotel, even at an old hotel like Circus Circus.

Luxor's Steakhouse not only has the best prime rib i've had in town, but also has the best seafood as well. I suspect all of their meat dishes are excellent, though.

The Tillerman has an excellent surf and turf selection- and their seafood is on par with Luxor's- which is top notch. It's also pretty quiet, as is the steakhouse at Luxor.

Um, Ortinique is a bit more....lively, but I'm a pretty generic eater (i dont do weird food dishes or complicated meals...simple, thats me), and I really enjoyed it there.

Don't know much about Drai's. I've heard various things, the noise level may be an issue there- not really sure.

The good news for you is that if you go to a nicer place to eat, the food quality is quite high here. Vegas has access to a coast, and the food here is as fresh as you'll find anywhere (except maybe Maine Lobsters- for some weird reason, i've never heard anyone rave about it at any place i've been to here in town)

If you have any specific questions, please feel free to pm me. I've lived here for 20 years and spent the last 5 or 6 sampling as much of the fine dining here as i can afford....(which isnt nearly as much as I would like, but its been enough to make me happy!)

We've had a lot of good suggestions so far. Unfortunately many of them are a bit pricey to be paying for 15 people. We'd like $30 a person but up to $40 would be fine if it is the right place. Those prices would be the whole meal, plus drinks and tip.

Bar none, the best restaurant in Vegas is Spiedini's at what used to be the Resort at Summerlin. outstanding food, great service -- you can't beat it. Seven at the Palms is also excellent. Commander's Palace is good as well. But if you're looking for something truly memorable, stick with Spiedinis.

Check Battista's - at Flamingo and Audrie, next to Bally's. Excellent Italian food, and a real experience...

this is prolly the only place listed that you can get away with $30/plate including drinks and tip. its pretty good too. very lively, fun atmosphere, drinks included in the dinner....def. make reservations, though......

i'm trying to think of other places.....but i'm coming up blank at the moment. i'll post something or other soon.

We're really starting to wonder how many of our guests would really appreciate all these nice places that have been suggested. We may just go the two of us to a couple of the nicer places. I think we would end up enjoying a nice dinner a lot more that way. Maybe we can hit up the parents to take us out so we can check out a few of those places.

Are there any recommended buffets in the $20-$30 range? Cheaper would be great, but we wouldn't want somewhere too trashy. It probably wouldn't be the quietest but we would be going fairly early in the afternoon (4-4:30) so I wouldn't think it would be too busy yet.

Are there any recommended buffets in the $20-$30 range? Cheaper would be great, but we wouldn't want somewhere too trashy. It probably wouldn't be the quietest but we would be going fairly early in the afternoon (4-4:30) so I wouldn't think it would be too busy yet.

Mandalay Bay has a really nice buffet....i liked it anyway, which may say something because i hate buffets.

Avoid the Mirage buffet- that thing was terrible.

The Rio's buffet is good, and their seafood buffet has long been noted as the best buffet in town. It's pricey ($25/person i think) but gets rave reviews every year.

Bellagio i'm sure has a good buffet...although i have no idea where it is in the hotel, so maybe they dont have one. but thats like sacrilige in Vegas- you have to have a buffet.

I hear the Golden Nugget has a good one, but it may not be as good anymore.

Avoid any of the buffets at hotels that look grungy on the outside (this includes, but is not limited to: Circus Circus, stardust, tropicana, etc, etc)

BTW- before i forget, if you guys really wanna live it up, I should recommend you check out the new Hooters Hotel and Casino- i can only imagine what their buffet must be like.

Mandalay Bay has a really nice buffet....i liked it anyway, which may say something because i hate buffets.

It looks nice. It probably will be our choice. It sounds like you have pretty good tastes and high standards, so if you liked it I doubt we will be disappointed.

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Avoid the Mirage buffet- that thing was terrible.

:lol: I ate there once and though it was pretty good. Though that was a few years ago. I could have sworn they had two buffets at that time though. And the price seems a lot cheaper now than it did then. I didn't pay though so it makes it hard to remember.

I'm probably one of the people who wouldn't know good food from bad if it looked him straight in the eye. :oops:

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The Rio's buffet is good, and their seafood buffet has long been noted as the best buffet in town. It's pricey ($25/person i think) but gets rave reviews every year.

Which one? I've been to the "World Buffet" before, again more than a couple years ago. I liked that one. There is a "Sea Food" buffet there also. The World Buffet is $24 and the Sea Food is $35.

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Bellagio i'm sure has a good buffet...although i have no idea where it is in the hotel, so maybe they dont have one. but thats like sacrilige in Vegas- you have to have a buffet.

I've heard mixed reviews about the buffet at the Bellagio. They have a nicer one on the weekends. Some people really liked it, but some people really thought it sucked for the money. None of the reviews specified which version they went to.

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Avoid any of the buffets at hotels that look grungy on the outside (this includes, but is not limited to: Circus Circus, stardust, tropicana, etc, etc)

Yeah, I hear you. It's funny how nice they seem when you have been living in the dirt, but go into one when you are looking for something a little nice and you are sure to be disappointed.

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BTW- before i forget, if you guys really wanna live it up, I should recommend you check out the new Hooters Hotel and Casino- i can only imagine what their buffet must be like.

I couldn't find a buffet for the Hooters Hotel. Or for that matter, at NY NY either.

:lol: I ate there once and though it was pretty good. Though that was a few years ago. I could have sworn they had two buffets at that time though. And the price seems a lot cheaper now than it did then. I didn't pay though so it makes it hard to remember.

they just finished revamping it. its now like $30 and frankly, its no better than the Gold Strikes- which is $4.

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Anyone have thoughts on the buffets at:

Luxor

dont go to it. avoid it at all costs. and no, i can't explain why the Luxor Steakhouse is so good (as well as Isis), but their cafe and buffet are so damn terrible.

Just an update - we had a lovely service last week, and did go to the Mandalay Bay buffet after for dinner with our famlies. Food was excellent, everyone could eat what they wanted, and it seemed that everyone was happy with the selection (and it didn't break the bank!).

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, we probably wouldn't have gone to that buffet if it hadn't been recomended.